Movie Reviews

[MalibuTrashDog]

I'm always looking for something new to watch so this thread is for you to post about movies you've seen and tell us why you liked it or didn't like it.

No spoilers tho!

[TheLionPrince]

This is a great idea for a topic. I love reading film reviews, although writing one is sometimes hard depending on how passionate you feel about the film.

The latest movie I've seen was Weiner (2016):

[quote]Who doesn't love a good comeback story? Some of the films ever made was that the underdog protagonist, against all odds, accomplishes their dream or successfully defeats the system. With Weiner, it has the feeling of a Hollywood-esque comeback, but even by the middle of the film, you are reminded of the popular proverb that "pride goes before destruction".

The film starts out with archival footage of Anthony Weiner, a longtime New York Democratic congressman, lambasting congressional Republicans for blocking legislation over health care for 9/11 first responders. His epic rant goes viral, and he quickly ascends to becoming a rising star for the Democrat Party. The following year, his momentum publically crashes and burns when apparently, he sexted lewd and sexually inappropriate of his genitals on social media to several women. He becomes the butt of late-night comedy routines and under tremendous scrutiny, he resigns.

Two years later in political limbo, in 2013, he announces his comeback campaign to succeed Michael Bloomberg as mayor of New York. He tells us that it is his dream and at first, he appears to be winning in the primaries. Anyone who knows how this turns out need not to be spoiled. This film is more of a character study than a narrative documentary film. Several of his supporters claim that everyone deserves a second chance, and certainly, the film makes us want to give him another chance. The filmmakers paint him as an energetic, politically passionate family man with a young wife, Huma, and newborn son with glossy extreme close-up shots.

But how much sympathy can we give to a man who is self-destructive in nature? Weiner's true nature reveals that when the going gets tough, he becomes more smug and arrogant. We are watching a trainwreck of a career from a point of no return in full display. Bit lips and his extremely sympathetic wife standing nervously by her man tell a sadly grounded story of a struggling marriage. Needless to say, this film is also an examination of how much the mainstream media and tabloid journalism feed of political scandals and exploit them into a media circus. While Weiner does come off looking really bad, the worst player in this tale is Sydney Leathers, who was one of the online sex partners of Weiner's sexting messages. Cameras and media figures aid in her quest to give her fifteen minutes of fame and publically humiliate Weiner.

Weiner is essentially a Shakespearian tragedy. The man brought about his downfall on his own with his Achilles' heel being his unnatural sexual addiction. He should have been seeking psychological help and marriage counseling before amounting a political comeback. Directed by Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg, Weiner offers an unprecedented access into one of the most intriguingly sensationalized political stories of recent times. [/quote]